Rum Punch

 

In the book Della partakes in a drink called Rum Punch which Lord and Lady Bellamy serve at all their Ton events. Della thinks it an awful drink, mainly because of its strong alcohol content mixed with various citrus and spices.

 

“Punch” in this case means five, referring to the five elements that a punch consisted of – sweet, sour, alcohol, water, and spice.

 

It became a drink of necessity as sailors that traveled back and forth trading goods and spices. Rum was a distilled drink that became common at sea due to low chances of spoiling; unlike ale, which usually went flat or spoiled before they had a chance to consume it.

Eventually making its way over to America, Rum Punch became more and more popular as people expounded upon the original recipe with their own.

 

The more “Americanized” versions of the time tended to lean less on the spice and more on the…you guessed it…rum (Jamaican Rum was used at this time) or whatever spirits they happened to have on hand. The most prevalent of the spices used in the punch was nutmeg, followed by cinnamon. During the 17th century nutmeg was one of the most valuable spices and was highly in demand by the elites and aristocracy of Europe; as was sugar!

 

I imagine that the version of the recipe that Lord and Lady Bellamy received from their family in America was quite a strong version indeed!

 

While our modernized versions of this drink have improved upon the original variation, they all still follow the same basic building blocks.

 

One of sour -(Orange was used quite a bit as it was known that Vitamin C helped reduced the chances of getting scurvy.)

 

Two of sweet - (A simple syrup was usually used, and sugar was a very expensive commodity at this time.)

 

Three of strong – (Mostly consisting of dark rum, but whatever spirits were on hand were used as well.)

 

Four of weak – (Water was used to tone the drink down. Could you imagine leaving it at three of strong?)

 

All of this was topped with nutmeg and cinnamon!

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Below is a more modernized version that we are more used to seeing!